About Me

When not nosing, tasting, drinking and reading about malt whisky, I own one of Israel's premiere boutique coaching practices, specializing in small businesses and executive teams.
Trained in the law, I was an international law attorney and took part in Israel's peace negotiations with the Palestinians, as well as representing my country at the UN for parts of the negotiations on the implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Later I was appointed to the military bench.
My favorite thing, other than whisky, is teaching.
You can contact me through the social media buttons above or by email: michael(at)maltandoak.com, replacing the (at) with an @.

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Malt and Oak is an independent whisky blog, offering my own views, opinions and news from the world of malt whisky.
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1. All whisky reviews published are of whiskies I have personally tasted and noted. Guest bloggers only write about their own personal tastings.

2. With the exception of official whisky samples, I accept no consideration whatsoever from any distillery, bottler, distributor, drink company or store for my opinions.

3. I maintain strict impartiality and objectivity in tasting all whiskies, not least when tasting official samples. Any review of official whisky samples sent to me will be so noted in the post.

4. I will accept invitations to tastings, events and official visits, and full disclosure will be made on any tasting notes and articles resulting from these events or visits.

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9. As of July 2017, I serve as Douglas Laing’s Israel brand ambassasdor. As such, I will obviously not be posting reviews of Douglas Laing products.

David Zibell’s innovation is great, and he’s continuing his ongoing work on distilled beer matured in oak casks, or Brewer’s Whisky. Thus, following the Spicy Hummus (Brewer’s Whisky 1) and the BBX Amber (Brewer’s Whisky 2), we now get OMG cask finished brewer’s whisky. This whisky is one third of the parcel which made the BBX in January 2018. That was Golan Height Brewery Bazelet Amber Ale, distilled and aged for 24 months in Golani casks. This third was then finished for seven more months in OMG casks. The last third, due out after 12 months of finishing, will have a cute feature that I’ll tell you all about in five months or so 😉

So, you ask, what is an OMG cask?

Follow closely now, as this is a bit complicated. The OMG casks are ex Golani casks that have been sent to the BeerBazzar Brewery to barrel age some of their ale. BeerBazzar then returned them to Golan Heights distillery. David divided the returning casks into three groups: Group 1 got thoroughly washed, group 2 got a light rinse, and group 3 was emptied of beer and not washed. I’ll mention that one of those casks had a small catch, but that’s part of the next release, so we’ll keep that under wraps for now. He then filled the two year old distilled Golan Heights Brewery’s Amber Ale from the ex Golani casks into these casks, dubbing them OMG.

Nose: A lot of freshness, orange blossom and orange juice. Some hoppy bitterness on the nose, apple cider and some oak. Time in the glass brings up some sourness, an apple vinegar sourness. Throughout, however, you still get that fresh and fruity nose.

Palate: Fruity, with apples, honey and a hint of strawberry sherbert. You get the hops in there, and could mistake this easily for Calvados.

Linger: Hops and fizzy fruit are on the tongue, light white pepper, and an overall sweetness in a medium finish. There’s a pleasant dryness in the mouth.

Conclusion

I liked the Hummus, I really liked the BBX, but darn, this OMG is just that!